The Porch, Crows Nest

New cafes seem to be sprouting up in Crows Nest a lot of late and one such new addition to the main strip is The Porch, a contemporary cafe occupying a narrowly shaped space with a black and white themed decor and their name spray painted onto one exposed brick section of a wall.

The name doesn’t give any hint of the Middle Eastern influences on their food such as the use of dukkah and cumin. For brunch, I gave their Middle Eastern Poached Eggs a shot and was pleasantly surprised by the neatly presented plate which showcased a few different elements. The poached eggs were done well, served on top of a slice of toast which absorbed the runny yolks of the eggs. The eggs were accompanied by thin slivers of salty prosciutto, a mound of quite intensely flavoured mushroom pannacotta (the first time I’ve had a savoury pannacotta!) and smears of a sweet avocado veloute sauce. In a way, this was a twist on conventional big breakfast brunch offerings around town with gourmet takes on the traditional bacon, grilled mushrooms and avocado that usually complement poached eggs. The menu did say it would come with pomegranate, but I thought that the purplish slice of vegies that came with it tasted more like a dehydrated beetroot slice instead. It’s a clean and classy brunch for me, although not particularly flavoursome when compared to my friend’s choice – which I had also been eyeing off on the menu.

Middle Eastern Poached Eggs, $15

My friend had ordered the Arabic Scrambled Egg and it was bursting with flavour as would be expected from shakshuka eggs seasoned with coriander and cumin and liberal amounts of caramelised onions. I will definitely come back to devour a full version of this dish next time myself!

Arabic Scrambled Egg, $15

It was quite hot on the day we dined and I opted for their Iced Coffee. It comes served in a very on-trend mason jar mug, with a cute black and white polka dot paper straw (also bang on trend) and a big dollop of vanilla ice cream. I can’t say that the coffee was particularly strong, but the ice and ice cream scoop both served to make it a refreshing drink in the heat.

Iced Coffee, $6

The Porch is quite reasonably priced for the generous servings they dish up and certainly much better priced than some other cafes in the area. I like the clean lines and classic colours in their decor and the fresh offerings on the menu at The Porch and will be back for more.

Who are we?

Excuse Me Waiter is a documented food and travel adventure run by two hungry Gen Y food fanatics DK & Yvn. Based in both Sydney and Tokyo, we're constantly on the search for the tastiest experiences, wherever it may be around the globe.